The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

Photo by Bloomberg

To Prove Efficiency, Zuckerberg Should Reverse Name Change

By Martin Peers · Mar 8, 2023 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Here’s an idea for Meta Platforms as we wait for the company to unveil another round of layoffs: Mark Zuckerberg should reverse his decision to change the name of the company to Meta. That label might have made sense (at least to him) back at the height of the boom times, in the fall of 2021, when his focus was all metaverse, all the time. The... Here’s an idea for Meta Platforms as we wait for the company to unveil another round of layoffs:...

Photo by Getty Images

Can CEOs Please Stop Acting like Jerks?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 7, 2023 5:00pm PST · 5 comments

Twitter CEO Elon Musk was speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference around the corner from our office in San Francisco today. You can’t have a conversation in Silicon Valley these days without him coming up. It’s not just that tech people love to talk about Twitter (and they do). It’s also that they love to talk about CEOs and their styles and... Twitter CEO Elon Musk was speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference around the corner from our...

Photo by Bloomberg

Apple and Samsung’s Teamwork

By Martin Peers · Mar 6, 2023 5:00pm PST

Comedian Louis C.K. had a smart observation a few years ago about how quickly people become blasé about the wonders of modern life, such as plane flight. His commentary came to mind after I read my colleague Wayne Ma’s story this morning about Apple’s rocky business marriage with Samsung. Among other things, the story describes how hard it is to... Comedian Louis C.K. had a smart observation a few years ago about how quickly people become blasé...

Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon and Brian Millham, Chief Operating Officer at Salesforce. Photos by Bloomberg and Salesforce.

Walking Back Remote Work Won’t Woo Wall Street

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 2, 2023 5:00pm PST · 6 comments

Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon and Brian Millham, Chief Operating Officer at Salesforce. Photos by Bloomberg and Salesforce.

Walking Back Remote Work Won’t Woo Wall Street

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 2, 2023 5:00pm PST · 6 comments

Technology companies are trying a new way to please Wall Street: Promise to go back to the office. After years of extolling the value of remote work—and long after the rest of the business world has reverted to their in-office ways—tech companies are seeing if they can buck up investors by showing how much more productive they are when they... Technology companies are trying a new way to please Wall Street: Promise to go back to the...

Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Benioff Discovers Efficiency (and Profits)

By Martin Peers · Mar 1, 2023 5:00pm PST

Some people are easily pleased. Salesforce stock jumped 15% in after-hours trading after the enterprise software firm reported fourth-quarter results that were a little better than it had projected. Free cash flow was solid. And Salesforce announced it was doubling its stock buyback program. Wall Street will enjoy those goodies—and the... Some people are easily pleased. Salesforce stock jumped 15% in after-hours trading after the...

Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg.

Elon Musk’s BasedAI and the AI Culture Wars

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 28, 2023 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Elon Musk today confirmed our big story from yesterday that he’s been recruiting a team to build an AI and chatbot that is “anti-woke.” Jon Victor and I wrote that his aim was to build a chatbot that “would have fewer restrictions on divisive subjects compared to ChatGPT and a related chatbot Microsoft recently launched.”Today, Musk tweeted out... Elon Musk today confirmed our big story from yesterday that he’s been recruiting a team to build...

Photo by Getty Images.

Alphabet Needs to Replace Sundar Pichai

By Martin Peers · Feb 27, 2023 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Shareholders in Alphabet are sending the company a message: It’s time for some drastic action. After a sharp slump in the past few weeks, Alphabet stock is up just 1.9% so far this year compared to the Nasdaq’s 10% rise. In contrast Facebook parent Meta Platforms, which was in the doghouse last year, has jumped 41% year to date. Alphabet and... Shareholders in Alphabet are sending the company a message: It’s time for some drastic action....

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. Photo by Getty Images.

Warner’s Profit-First, No-Growth Streaming Strategy

By Martin Peers · Feb 23, 2023 5:00pm PST

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. Photo by Getty Images.

Warner’s Profit-First, No-Growth Streaming Strategy

By Martin Peers · Feb 23, 2023 5:00pm PST

Investors interested in the video-streaming segment can’t complain they don’t have choices. If they want to buy into a company that’s singularly focused on turning a profit in streaming, instead of trying to balance profits and growth, they can check out Warner Bros. Discovery. The parent of HBO Max and Discovery+ reported Thursday that the loss... Investors interested in the video-streaming segment can’t complain they don’t have choices. If...

Signage outside Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California, US, on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Photo by Bloomberg.

Intel’s Predictable Dividend Cut

By Martin Peers · Feb 22, 2023 5:00pm PST

Intel’s other shoe dropped. Less than a month after reporting a miserable fourth quarter, in which revenue fell 32% and the chip giant lost $661 million, Intel said Wednesday it was slashing its dividend 66%. It’s a logical move given that Intel needs to spend tens of billions on new chip investments in the next few years, yet burned through $9... Intel’s other shoe dropped. Less than a month after reporting a miserable fourth quarter, in...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Photo by Bloomberg.

Coinbase Sets Bar Low for Long-Term Profit Goals

By Martin Peers · Feb 21, 2023 5:00pm PST

When it comes to profit goals, Brian Armstrong isn’t exactly setting the bar high. Coinbase declared today that it was abandoning the goal it laid out two years ago when it went public to operate “at break even, smoothed out over time,” so that losses sustained during crypto winters would be offset by profits made in good times. Instead,... When it comes to profit goals, Brian Armstrong isn’t exactly setting the bar high. Coinbase...

Susan Wojcicki. Photo by Bloomberg.

I Was Wrong About Susan Wojcicki

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 16, 2023 5:00pm PST

I remember the day, nine years ago, when Susan Wojcicki took over as CEO of YouTube. I didn’t think it would go well. And I was wrong. As a tech reporter on the Google beat, I had known Wojcicki for a while and had followed her for even longer. She had been the 16th employee at the company—basically as closely tied to the history of Google... I remember the day, nine years ago, when Susan Wojcicki took over as CEO of YouTube. I didn’t...

Photo by Shutterstock

Post-Pandemic Slump Ends for Roblox but Not Shopify

By Martin Peers · Feb 15, 2023 5:00pm PST

Photo by Shutterstock

Post-Pandemic Slump Ends for Roblox but Not Shopify

By Martin Peers · Feb 15, 2023 5:00pm PST

Greetings!The pandemic hangover may be ending, at least for some. Roblox’s fourth-quarter report today showed that at least one of the Covid-19 boomers whose business flatlined once people resumed normal life is growing solidly again. Roblox’s bookings rose 17% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, after declining in the first half of 2022.... Greetings!The pandemic hangover may be ending, at least for some. Roblox’s fourth-quarter report...

Photo by Getty Images

The Good News for Tech IPO Hopefuls

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 14, 2023 5:00pm PST

Sentiment around a long-awaited return for tech initial public offerings has certainly turned—or at least subtly shifted—in the last week. The previous mood among several investors I have spoken with could have been summed up as: “No way that’s happening anytime soon.” Now it’s more like: “You know, there may just be an opening in a quarter or... Sentiment around a long-awaited return for tech initial public offerings has certainly turned—or...

Photo by Bloomberg

Google and Oracle’s Uber Boost Reignites a Classic Tech Debate

By Martin Peers · Feb 13, 2023 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Another Travis Kalanick legacy is disappearing from Uber. The ride-hailing and food-delivery firm revealed on Monday that it was shifting most of its computing work off its own data centers to the public cloud, reversing an Uber policy that has been in place since the company’s earliest days under co-founder Kalanick. That’s a big deal,... Another Travis Kalanick legacy is disappearing from Uber. The ride-hailing and food-delivery firm...

Photo by Shutterstock.

The Flaw in Apple’s ‘Installed Base’ Metric

By Martin Peers · Feb 9, 2023 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Here’s an idea for the new AI-powered Bing: Write the script for the next Apple quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts. It wouldn’t be difficult. Throw in the phrases “installed base rose to a new all-time high” and “customers are loving the new iPhone” and you’re halfway there. The same would be true for many other big tech... Here’s an idea for the new AI-powered Bing: Write the script for the next Apple quarterly...

Bob Iger. Photo by Bloomberg.

Iger’s Disney Fix-It Plan Has Something for Everyone

By Martin Peers · Feb 8, 2023 5:00pm PST

Bob Iger. Photo by Bloomberg.

Iger’s Disney Fix-It Plan Has Something for Everyone

By Martin Peers · Feb 8, 2023 5:00pm PST

Bob Iger really should have run for president, as he once considered doing. His political instinct is unmatched, at least among CEOs. On Wednesday, in his first quarterly earnings call since returning to the top job at Disney, Iger offered something for everyone. A return of the dividend! Layoffs! Creative executives get their power back!... Bob Iger really should have run for president, as he once considered doing. His political...

Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg.

Microsoft Might Keep Losing in Search and Still Win

By Nick Wingfield · Feb 7, 2023 5:00pm PST

Could Microsoft win even if it loses in the next chapter of internet search? That was the question running through my head at an event in Redmond, Wash., earlier today, where Microsoft confirmed reporting from The Information and others when it announced it will remake its Bing search engine using artificial intelligence technology from... Could Microsoft win even if it loses in the next chapter of internet search? That was the...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Google’s AI Catch-Up Reveals

By Martin Peers · Feb 6, 2023 5:00pm PST

Google is finally waking up. After weeks of excitement coursing through tech about OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot, paired with news coverage of how Microsoft plans to incorporate it into products like Bing and Word, Google has made a move. The tech company once seen as a leader in artificial intelligence on Monday unveiled its version of a... Google is finally waking up. After weeks of excitement coursing through tech about OpenAI’s...

Photos by Bloomberg

For Tech CEOs, ‘Challenging’ Means Dismal

By Martin Peers · Feb 2, 2023 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Challenging! That’s the euphemism of the moment, used by way too many tech CEOs (including Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai tonight and Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Spiegel in recent days) to describe either 2022 or the current moment or both. Translated from corporate-speak into conversational English, it means business is bad. Just how bad became clear... Challenging! That’s the euphemism of the moment, used by way too many tech CEOs (including Tim...

Photo by Bloomberg

Meta Declares ‘Year of Efficiency’ as Revenue Stagnates

By Martin Peers · Feb 1, 2023 5:00pm PST

Photo by Bloomberg

Meta Declares ‘Year of Efficiency’ as Revenue Stagnates

By Martin Peers · Feb 1, 2023 5:00pm PST

We’re in the middle of Chinese New Year celebrations at the start of the Year of the Rabbit. At Meta Platforms, though, it’s the “year of efficiency,” as CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared Wednesday on announcing fourth-quarter results. Investors such as Altimeter Capital, which last fall called on Meta to streamline, will be happy. It’s just a pity... We’re in the middle of Chinese New Year celebrations at the start of the Year of the Rabbit. At...